Meet the Medics: Citi Field will become 24/7 mass vaccine site

Mayor Bill de Blasio attended Opening Day at Citi Field in 2016. Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office.

David Brand

New York City’s public hospital system will partner with the New York Mets to transform Citi Field into a 24/7 vaccination site, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

De Blasio appeared with new Mets owner Steve Cohen to announce the public health initiative, part of a citywide effort to accelerate vaccine rollout. The vaccine site will open the week of Jan. 25, de Blasio said. 

“It is Amazin’ news,” he said. “And it's such a welcome moment for the people of this city, particularly for the people in Queens – we are going to have a 24/7, mega-vaccination site at Citi Field.” 

De Blasio said the ballpark’s proximity to the No. 7 Train and its large parking lots will enable thousands of New Yorkers to visit every day. Health + Hospitals staff will have capacity to administer 5,000 to 7,000 doses a day, he said.

Cohen, who purchased the Mets last year for a record $2.4 billion, said he and his wife Alex wanted to pitch in to help New York City combat the COVID crisis.

“We had talked about being involved in our communities and I can’t think of any way that’s more important than what this effort is,” Cohen said. “The goal is to just get the vaccine in people’s arms so we can get this crisis over with and get back to living a normal life.”

The city will also open a 24/7 vaccine “mega site” at 125 Worth Street in Manhattan, de Blasio said. Two other all-day vaccine sites are operating at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park and Bathgate Contract Postal Station in the Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx.

Three public schools, including Hillcrest High School, are also hosting vaccine distribution during daytime and early evening hours.

The city next plans to initiate a 24/7 vaccine effort at Vanderbilt Gotham Health Center in Staten Island Friday and at a Health Department clinic in Corona on Saturday. 

Healthcare workers, transit workers, teachers, nursing home residents and New Yorkers over age 75 are all currently eligible to receive vaccines. 

The city has administered 239,324 vaccines as of Tuesday afternoon, with 23,310 people receiving their second dose. 

Rollout has been plagued by delays, however. More than 400,000 vaccine doses delivered to the city have so far gone unused. 

Cover photo by SLGCKGC/Flickr